Cooking with Ashley: Part 3

Cooking Assignment: White-Cheddar Corn Chowder and Orange Rolls
We decided to make a soup for this cooking lesson. Ashley found a White-Cheddar Corn Chowder recipe on Martha Stewart Living and we decided to give it a try. It was delicious! I will most defiantly make it again.
We also made Orange Rolls. These are a Groesbeck family holiday tradition. They are amazing. I ate like five of them! I'm glad Ashley was willing to make them with me.

Another house guest....

We had a little visitor this weekend! This is Louis. I'm watching him for a neighbor while she's out of town. He's a sweet little puppy and he makes me want a dog of my own!

Friday Favorites: Snacks...yummm

I love snacks! I actually go through phases with my snacks. I will eat the same snack for months and then get board and move to the next one. I guess I'm on a snack cycle (I actually do the same thing with meals. Yes, I'm not very creative)

Apples and Peanut Butter:

This is my favorite snack of all time. I could eat this all day every day.

Kettle Corn:

My current obsession! I can eat bags of this stuff and I do.

Strawberries:

Strawberries are my favorite fruit. I just slice some up and put a little sugar on it. It's the best. I really should eat this more.

Celery and Peanut Butter:

The only way I can eat celery is with peanut butter. I will eat almost anything if it has peanut butter on it.

Graham Crackers and Whipped Cream Sandwich:

My dad used to make these all the time (usually with chocolate graham crackers). I actually haven't made these in a long time. I need to change that.Chips and Salsa:

This is actually a meal for me. I eat this after work several times a week. I'm addicted.

Friday Favorites: TV shows

Confession: I watch a lot of TV (gotta love TiVo!) While I will watch almost anything that's on, I do have a few select shows that I'm truly loyal to. You know what I'm talking about. It's the show you have to watch the day of because you can't bear the thought of not knowing what happened.

LOST: I started watching LOST the first season it came out. I watched my first episode my sophomore year of college and I have been addicted ever since. I'm also proud to admit that I have brought a lot of people into the LOST "fold" over the years. I can't wait until January when the season starts again.

the office: I'm a "new" office fan. I started watching last year and just fell in love. It's not really my type of show, so I'm kind of surprised that I like it so much.

LAW & ORDER - SVU: The sun never sets on LAW & ORDER. It's always on! But SVU is my favorite. It wasn't until this year that I actually started watching the new episodes the week that they come out. I usually just watched the reruns on TNT. It's always a good day when I discover an episode I've never seen.

NCIS: This is another new show for me. I just started watching this year, but have caught up on all the seasons. I can't wait for the next season to start. I miss Gibbs.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: My newest obsession! Over the years many people have told me about how great this show is. I never watched an episode, but I saw that the first season was on sale at Best Buy so I got it. It sat on my DVD rack for over four months. But on Wednesday I started watching. Now I can't stop! My new life goal is to move to Texas and marry a football coach!

Bye Bye Family...

The kids had a flight tonight, but they wanted to get in one more show before heading back to the west coast. Show of choice? Rock of Ages! I have been talking this show up for some time, so I was super nervous they wouldn't like it. Dad loved it! He said he was super glad I talked him into seeing it. He just loved the band! Kari thought it was really funny too.

I'm so glad that Dad, Kari, and Aunt Susan came for a little visit. It was nice having them in town for my birthday. I can't wait until next year when they come again (hopefully).

The Perfect Day!

Saturday was the perfect day! We slept in and then went to brunch at Sarabeth's with Ashley. I had Almond‑Crusted French Toast with Cranberry‑Cherry Sauce and fell in love with Sarabeth's all over again.


We then caught the matinee showing of Bye Bye Birdie. What did I think? I will let you know about that later. I will say I heart John Stamos!


Then the fam took me to Tavern on the Green for dinner. I have wanted to go to Tavern on the Green since moving to the city, so I was super excited when they told me that's where we were going. The food was amazing! The fam also ordered me a cake! The only downer on the evening was that Mom wasn't there.

Playing in the Rain...

I took Friday off to play with the fam. Unfortunately it rained almost the whole day, so some of our plans fell through. We started the day at Shake Shack (classic!). The fam really liked it (I'm glad because I really talked it up).

We had plans to go to Canal street, but the rain was so bad that we scrapped that and ended up at Rice to Riches.

Our main Friday activity was going to a Yankee game. We headed up early and just sat and hoped that the rain would stop. Luckily the game was only delayed an hour and a half and we got to watch 7 innings. It was so fun being there and seeing Jeter break the all time Yankee hit record (he has 2,722 hits, which breaks Lou Gehrig’s 72 year old record). The crowd went wild! I was so glad we could be there and that the rain stopped long enough that they could play.

The US Open and NEXT TO NORMAL!

Dad and Aunt Susan went to the US Open on Thursday. They were so excited that they got to see the Williams sisters play doubles. They really love going to the US Open (especially Aunt Susan).

Kari slept and read most of the day, but came down to meet me for lunch (I had to work all day). We then met up after work for dinner and NEXT TO NORMAL! This was the show I have wanted Kari to see. She loved it! She said it may now be one of her favorites shows.

A Day with the Chimps....

So Dad, Aunt Susan, and Kari showed up bright and early on Wednesday morning. They didn't wait long to get out and play. Well, Dad and Aunt Susan didn't. Kari slept and took a shower. Dad and Susan spent most of the morning in Time Square waiting for me to get off work. I met them for lunch at PAX. I think it's sooo funny that out of all the amazing restaurants in the city my dad loves PAX.

We then went up to see Shrek. Dad really liked it. There was one part in the show where he started laughing and just couldn't stop. I must confess I liked it better this time than when I first saw it. We then went to Ellen's Stardust Diner.
Kari really wanted to see another show, so she and I went and got some last min tickets for the 39 steps. I really love this play. It's one of the better ones playing on Broadway and I'm glad I got to see it again. Kari really liked it.
What a first day!